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Voltronic
Voltronic (originally known as Voltarc) was a heavyweight robot that competed in every season of Battlebots. Builder Stephen Felk was in the audience at the Robot Wars 1996 event, and was inspired to make a robot that combined the best features of two prominent competitiors - La Machine's wedge and Biohazard's lifter. Felk built the robot in his kitchen with a salvaged electric scooter and sheets of aluminum. The end result was a flat and invertible square wedge with a lifting arm. On the end of the arm were a set of retractable claws (similar to one-way tire treadles) that would come out when the lifting arm was raised, making it very difficult for the other robot to slide off the arm. The armor was a highly durable, and stood up to many destructive robots like Razer and Mortis The robot was originally called Voltarc, but this name had to be changed because the name Voltarc was trademarked by a lighting company. Voltronic retained the same basic look, but went through several design revisions through the years. The original featured retractable wheel guards that removed invertibility when active, but protected the wheels from crushers and axes. These were removed in the final season. Starting in the Las Vegas Pay-Per-View tournament, Voltarc featured a hinged scoop at the back, which protected its ground clearance, but could strand it off the ground if Voltarc were flipped, which ultimately ended its chances in Season 1.0 The robot was defeated by Vlad The Impaler in a staggering three consecutive seasons, but did well overall, finishing as runner up in the Las Vegas Pay-Per-View and Seasons 1 and 5.0. Felk was reputed for his enthusiastic WWE-esque style of interviewing. Robot History Season 1.0Vlad the Impaler After a fairly decent start in BattleBots, reaching the Las Vegas 1999 Heavyweight Finals before losing to Vlad the Impaler, Voltarc returned for Season 1.0 ranked #2. It had every one of its Season 1.0 fights aired on television, and was first drawn up against Bender, after receiving a first round bye. Voltarc immediately cruised towards Bender, which was still in its square trying to get its disc up to speed. The initial contact between the 2 Heavyweights caused Bender to drive up Voltarc's wedge but was not enough to tip Bender over. Voltarc then went in for another attack and pushed part of Bender into the spike strips. Voltarc then pushed Bender around the arena for a bit before knocking off Bender's rear-mounted caster wheel, hindering movement and making Bender even less able to hit a target. Bender was then driven into a wall, before Voltarc then used its lifting arm to mount Bender onto a spike strip. Bender escaped, but then drove straight into Voltarc's wedge again. Bender drove over the killsaws, followed by Voltarc. Bender got its disc up to full speed, but was unable to attack Voltarc due to the loss of its caster. Voltarc continued pushing Bender about and eventually won with a 9-0 judges' decision. Voltarc faced BioHazard in the quarterfinals. The match began with both bots moving around each other, and BioHazard almost lifted Voltarc twice. However, the tide turned when Voltarc was able to get underneath BioHazard and lift it up with its articulated arm. BioHazard was completely at Voltarc's mercy for the rest of the match and visited every killsaw in the arena which caused many sparks to fly from BioHazard's armor. It is unclear why Voltarc was not told to let BioHazard down after thirty seconds. Voltarc won by judges decision, 9-0. Killerhurtz was Voltarc's next opponent. Killerhurtz immediately charged across the arena but impaled itself on Voltarc's lifting arm. It could not do anything to retaliate, as its axe was destroyed in a previous bout against Mauler. Killerhurtz was then let free and rammed Voltarc before accidentally driving itself into the killsaws, leaving 2 thin cuts on its front right lexan panel. Both robots charged across the arena, before Killerhurtz bumped into Voltarc and backed off. No damage was done to either robot for a while, as both of them were positioning for an attack. Killerhurtz then drove into the spike strip and lost its top mounted union jack. It then drove over the killsaws, further damaging it. Killerhurtz continued driving over killsaws, out of control before Voltarc got underneath and activated its lifting arm. Killerhurtz was lifted onto the killsaws, cutting into the electronics. Killerhurtz was unable to do anything and came out of the fight heavily damaged. Voltarc was the clear winner with an 8-1 decision, and moved onto the finals for a rematch against Vlad the Impaler. The fight began with Voltarc charging across the arena, but drove itself onto Vlad the Impaler's lifting forks. Luckily, Voltarc escaped before any pushing was done. Not much happened for a while, before Vlad the Impaler got underneath Voltarc and rammed it so fast Voltarc was flipped upside down. Voltarc attempted to self right itself, but the sri-mech was in the wrong direction so it could not self-right. It tried several times, but to no avail. Vlad the Impaler won by a KO in 1 minute 42 seconds, leaving Voltarc a runner-up for a second season in a row. Season 2.0 Voltarc, following a copyright dispute with a battery company, was forced to change its name into Voltronic for Season 2.0. Other than the name change, the robot wasn't changed much from Season 1.0, aside from the lifting arm now having 3 impaling spikes rather than one. Like every other Heavyweight that competed in Season 2.0, it received a first-round bye due to many Heavyweights not competing. Its first true fight was against Dreadbot. Category:Heavyweight Robots Category:BattleBots Competitors Category:Robots in the Combat Robot Hall Of Fame Category:Robots armed with lifting weapons Category:Heavyweight Runner-Ups Category:Heavyweight Semifinalists Category:Heavyweight Quarterfinalists Category:Robots profiled in The Official Guide Category:Robots armed with lifting weapons